Ultrasound video scanning is a cost effective and preferable method for diagnosing various parts of the human body, including but not limited to, the heart, lungs, kidneys, etc. Ultrasonic scanning entails positioning a probe on the surface of a patient in an area from which the subject part of the body can be scanned, and then scanning the subject area using an ultrasonic signal. The scan signal appears as a video image of the subject anatomy. These images are interpreted by an ultrasound specialist, such as a cardiologist in the case of a heart examination; however, in some geographic areas, a specialist to diagnose the scan image may not be available. In this case, the image is captured on video tape, and a copy is sent to the specialist for diagnosis. This presents a problem if, for example, the scan probe is not optimally positioned during the scan, resulting in an incomplete or undiagnosible image. In that case, the specialist requests an additional scan, thus wasting valuable time and energy.
With the interest and support in telemedicine, the notion of having specialists perform ultrasound examinations at remote locations via electronic data exchange is very attractive. Were the specialist able to view the scan position in real time during the scanning procedure, the specialist could instruct the scan operator on the optimal placement of the scan probe.
In the absence of channel bandwidth constraints, such an approach is straightforward, with high potential benefits related to providing immediate care and lowering overall expense. Unfortunately, many of these remote locations do not have access to high capacity channels, such as T1 lines, to interface with large urban medical centers where such specialists reside.
To achieve successful transmission given the severe constraints on channel capacity, real-time transmission can be performed in a lossy fashion. This means that the real-time images seen by the doctor will have some level of distortion. However, the level of distortion can be made small enough by the system to allow probe positioning to be performed effectively. With the probe in optimal position, a lossless (distortion-free) version of the ultrasound can be transmitted in a non-real-time mode for diagnosis.
Thus, a heretofore unaddressed need exists in the industry for a system and method for permitting high quality transmission of ultrasound signals to thereby facilitate probe positioning and preliminary inspection.